Gift Exchange

Earlier this month I participated in the Gift Exchange over at Craftaholics Anonymous. I lucked out and had Heather over at Small Fry & Co. as my partner. She sent me two huge handmade bags (a teacher can never have enough bags!), a cute chalkboard frame, and a paper bag scrapbook (I've never seen them open like this- I ♥ it!).



The inside of the scrapbook...


Thanks Heather! I appreciate your kindness! And thanks Linda for hosting!

Christmas Crafting A LOT...

Somehow I was able to complete all of my projects in time for Christmas, I just wasn't able to blog about them until now...

So here are a few pictures of completed projects.

A stuffed giraffe I crochet using the pattern found here...



A personalized plate using these instructions...


And finally, I broke free of my fear and tackled some sewing. I was never really afraid of sewing, more so afraid of the inability to "get it right" the first time. This is one of the FOUR scarves I made, in addition to a couple sets of coasters (that I did not get pictures of).

Vintage Style Star Ornament Tutorial

First, cut your star shape and a circle slightly smaller.

Accordian fold crepe paper (I used streamers) about half an inch thick. Place a good bit of glue in the center of the circle (and some more around the edges).

Stretch the crepe paper around the circle and glue two end pieces together.

Glue your embellished star on top. Dry and add a ribbon to the back for hanging.



Now you have very pretty glittery ornaments to adorn your tree with or give away on goody bags!

Giving Thanks

Some of the things I am thankful for (although this list is certainly not exclusive, rather a small tribute)...

My family...

Including my Fur Family...

Friends...

Education...

An opportunity to travel and surround myself with the wonders of such a grand world...

In these uncertain times I certainly have a lot to be thankful for!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Winner!

If you haven't found this blog already you need to go check it out! I love her felt food and she has some really neat repurposing ideas! I am so excited to have won cupkateer's giveaway for this felt pizza. I really want to play around with making some felt food of my own- maybe this is just the inspiration I needed!

A day late...

Ok, so I've been meaning to post this for quite some time but it just never made it here until now...

I have been in total banner mode. Here is my latest...









Sammye Jo has a great tutorial for these paper flowers here.








Hope you all had a Spooktacular Halloween!

Halloween Swap

Today was the last day of the 13 days of Halloween Swap that I participated in. Harley from Koala Fuzz was my partner (and what a wonderful partner she was!). I really enjoyed opening a new surprise each day and the gifts I received were amazing! I hope she liked hers as much as I love mine! Here are a few pictures of my Halloween goodies...

Can you believe she made this?!


And these. I ♥ these! Love, Love, Love the colors!


All of my goodies!

Thanks Harley for making my first swap so wonderful! I'll definitely have to do another swap soon!

Catching up...

I made it though my surgery ok. Actually the doctor found that I didn't even need the other half of the procedure and I was able to be discharged later that night. The worst part about it was that I had to lay flat for several hours (see picture).

My mom made me a special quilt for the occasion. This is her first completed quilt (made from cute vintage inspired prints from Moda: pampered pooch).

Updates/ Halloween Swap Preview

Please excuse my lack of posting lately (I promise to be better). I have been extremely busy lately- I can't believe it is already October! In addition to my normal business (work, grad school, writing/grading papers, and very little craft time) I have recently been faced with a new set of challenges, but first a little Halloween Swap preview...


Tiger is quite the model isn't he? :)

On a more serious note...

A little over 3 weeks ago I became dizzy, lost consciousness, and blacked out. I visited my doctor and had a range of tests ordered, one of them being to wear a 24 hour holter (heart) monitor. I fully expected everything to come back normal since I don't experience any sudden change in heartbeats- this wasn't the case. The report showed that I had an episode of 17 beats of Ventricular Tachycardia (a rhythm that can result in sudden death). I was referred to an EP Cardiologist who confirmed the rhythm. Because of my fainting and the potential of sudden death, this is an issue that must be addressed; so in 2 weeks I will go into the hospital for a surgical procedure called VT Ablation. During this procedure the doctor will insert a catheter into a vein in my leg and up to my heart. Once there he will attempt to irritate my heart to recreate and find the problem area. Once the problem is located it will be burned. If all goes well I should go home the next day.

Homemade Applesauce

Yesterday was Johnny Appleseed day, so to celebrate my students and I did all things apple. I am sharing this amazing recipe for applesauce. It is super easy (aside from cutting the apples)- just dump it all in a crock pot! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
12 large Granny Smith Apples (about 5 1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Peel, core, and cut apples into 1 1/2 inch chunks. Toss with apple juice, sugar, and cinnamon. Put into a 5-quart slow cooker. Add butter. Cook on high for 4 hours. Stir until desired consistency. Makes 8 cups.

Tags

Check out these tags I made for a tag swap...

Happy Halloween


Fall Ya'll


Gingerbread Soldiers



Fun Flipflops!

Just a little teasing...

I can't tell you how excited about the 13 days of Halloween Swap! My swap partner is Harley over at Koala Fuzz; she is hosting the swap and I am thrilled to have her as a partner. Go check out her blog- she has lots of cute ideas!

I wanted to share a few of the goodies I have rounded up... So here's just a little taste of what may be...

13 Days of Halloween

I am so excited to be participating in my first swap; a 13 days of Halloween swap hosted by Koala Fuzz!

Banner Tutorial

Not much beadwork going on here lately; instead I have been doing lots of paper crafting. I finally got around to completing a project that has been an idea of mine for quite sometime. I decided it would be a good project for my first tutorial, so here it is:

You will need:
Cardboard (cereal boxes work well)
8X8 paper in colors of your choice
paper in a contrasting color
hole punch (I used the crop-a-dial)
scissors or paper cutter
ruler
glue
ribbon
A Cricket is helpful

1. Mark the center along the edge of your 8X8 paper.


2. Using the ruler, make a line from the center to the opposite outside corner on both sides, forming a triangle. Continue to do this for all papers needed (I used 18 pages, two per triangle, to create a 9 letter banner). Cut out triangles.


3. It is easiest if you use one of the paper triangles as a template to cut out the cardboard. Cut out one cardboard triangle for each letter in your banner.


4. Use the glue to adhere the paper triangles to both sides of the cardboard.



5. Decide where you want to punch holes (I punched at 3/4 of an inch from the top and 2 inches in on both sides). You will need 2 holes in each triangle.


6. Thread the ribbon through the holes in an "over-under" fashion.


7. Use your contrasting paper to cut letters (I used the Jasmine Cartridge on the Cricket at 4 1/2 inch font size).


8. Adhere letters to the triangles.
I cut out the word CELEBRATE for one side of the banner and CONGRATS! for the other side, allowing me to have 2 uses for the same banner. ;)


9. Tie of ends of ribbon (I made loops to make it easy to hang) and you are finished!



I hope I explained everything well. I would love some feedback on this tutorial, since it is my first. ;)